Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Cute swimming shorts posted in my flickr group using Animal Party fabric.

Adorable quilt on Etsy using On A Whim 2.

Cute doggie collar on Etsy using On A Whim 2.

A special snack bag for your favorite pup on Etsy using Animal Party.

Sneaky Peek into "Splish Splash"

I thought I would share a little backstory about how "Splish Splash" came to be. I am inspired everyday by where I live - in a nature preserve outside of Atlanta. I wake up every morning to lots of animal sounds - although I don't live on a river, I do live on a lake with lots of ducks, water birds, bugs, turtles, beavers, and  frogs. I wrote a draft that was focused on the sounds that surrounded me on my daily walks. When I showed it to my art director at Little Simon, she immediately saw my vision for the book. We condensed it to a board book and added an interactive feature - using interesting materials that the reader touches to simulate the sounds they are reading about. What I particularly love is the lo-tech nature of the interactive component  - no batteries or buttons. Here are a couple of spreads from "Splish Splash" that are featured on Amazon.com.  Although you can't see it in these illustrations, the dragonfly's wings flap up and down by pulling a tab and the frog's throat is a material that you stroke to hear the crickety croaking. I can't wait to hear how kids respond to this book. The book is available for pre order on various sites here and abroad, including Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes and Noble, Book Depository (UK), Flipkart (India), to name a few.

Splish Splash!

I have a new board book for ages 1-4 that I wrote and illustrated titled "Splish Splash" by Little Simon which will be released March, 2011. I am so excited that it is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Stay tuned for more information and some giveaways as we get closer. This is my first book that was my concept and writing combined with my illustrations. I can't wait to be able to share more about it.

Here is the publisher's description of the book:

Dragonflies zip zip zip and frogs croakity croak while bare feet splish splash in this board book all about the sounds of the river. Each spread features a touch and feel element that creates the sound described in the text. With beautiful illustrations, interesting textures and fun sounds, this highly interactive format is certain to tickle the senses.

Hello Again

Hello again and happy Friday. As summer winds down, here are a couple of outfits to ogle -  a sweet and delicious organic outfit using Robert Kaufman's Confections fabric with my cupcake design....

....and check out this cutie patootie modeling a shirt made from the On A Whim 2 lions. Yum.

Double Feature

Also this week, my flying birds fabric that I printed with Spoonflower is featured on the Apartment Therapy Oh Dee Oh website.

Owls in Culture

I had the pleasure recently of being interviewed for a feature article in the Swedish newspaper, Svenska Dagbladet, about owls in modern culture. Here is the google translated online version of the article - mind you not 100% accurate translation, but you get the idea. I am looking forward to seeing the printed version, although it will be in Swedish, it will have pictures included. The author of the article is a journalist for the paper who was inspired to write the article after purchasing owl fabric with my design to decorate her young son's bedroom and was impressed with how many baby products available that were owl themed.

The House of Joy

It is our house anniversary on the 10th of this month. When we bought our house north of Atlanta 14 years ago, the woman who owned it told us the cabin was known as "The House of Joy" We live in a lakeside community that was a vacation resort for wealthy Atlantans in the '20s and '30s and our house was one of the original cabins. The story goes that our house was the town brothel and that Al Capone vacationed here. It is unusual to see homes with any history attached in Atlanta because of the destruction during the Civil War. I have been meaning to put some signage in the house for 14 years now and finally did it. If living in a house of joy isn't enough - we live on Lake Cherful (pronounced "cheerful") - a melding of the names of the two counties it sits on. One time many years ago I shared the story with a woman who helped me with housecleaning. She told me it should be called "The House of Love", which I think to this day was one of the nicest compliments I ever got. I have noticed that our house loves to entertain. It is hard to describe, but when we have people over, the house sort of comes alive. There is a magical quality that permeates the air. It is something indescribable, but this house definitely seems to have a soul.

Here is the flip side of the room.